Local Findings Meet Global Evidence
This pattern echoes international research. Studies in the United States and Europe reveal that phone bans can reduce distractions and bullying, yet the academic gains remain modest. According to a 2024 meta-analysis by T. Böttger, student performance improves slightly (effect size ≈ 0.16) when devices are restricted, but social climate sees greater benefit.
UNESCO’s 2024 policy brief takes a nuanced stance: phones should be allowed “only when they clearly support learning.” This perspective aligns closely with what Bahamian educators are already practicing — structured flexibility, not total prohibition.
Across Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, similar conversations are unfolding. In Kingston, some schools have reintroduced limited phone use for digital assignments, while others mirror The Bahamas’ policy of morning drop-off and end-of-day retrieval. In Trinidad, technology teachers advocate a “controlled integration” model, using student devices to teach coding, science simulations, and financial-literacy apps.
What Is the Official Position in The Bahamas?
While many Bahamian schools have implemented their own check-in or confiscation systems, the Ministry of Education’s publicly available documentation does not specify a national smartphone ban or unified device-policy directive.
The Ministry’s Technology & Innovation profile affirms that “there is no blanket ban on the use of mobile devices in classrooms.”
This absence of a centralized policy leaves individual schools to craft context-specific approaches — a flexibility that allows innovation but can also lead to inconsistency across islands and institutions.
